Injuries from trips, slips and falls can be extensive, resulting in fractures, brain trauma, neck & back injuries, just to name a few. Recovering from a serious fall can take many months and leave a person with lifelong health issues and exorbitant medical bills. If you’ve been injured after slipping or falling on someone else’s property, the slip and fall lawyers of Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law are here to help. 

Property owners have a duty to operate their property in a safe manner and can be liable if accidents or injuries happen on their premises or property. When a person is injured on someone else’s property and that injury is caused by the owner’s negligence, the victim can file a personal injury claim seeking compensation, like the cost of medical treatment, lost income and pain and suffering due to the injuries.

No one expects to be injured in an accident, whether it’s walking on a sidewalk or through a parking lot, shopping at a store or going about their work or daily activities. If you are injured on someone else’s property due to their negligence, trying to get compensation for your medical bills, lost wages and other damages can be complex. Many times more than one responsible party may be involved. Or, an insurance company is seeking a quick, lowball settlement.

Wouldn’t it be a relief to know you could count on a trusted friend and advisor to passionately champion for you? Someone who’s got your best interests in mind? At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, we believe in exceptional client care. To us, that means an experience free from legalese, hype, hassle, and intimidation. With us by your side, you can put the worries aside. 

For a free legal consultation with a compassionate slip and fall lawyer serving New Jersey, call (877) 448-7350

In this article, we'll walk through comprehensive information about New Jersey trip slip and fall accidents for victims and their loved ones.

Should I Hire a Slip and Fall Lawyer?

Slip and Fall Compensation Amounts

Proving Negligence in a Trip Slip or Fall Lawsuit 

Deadline for Filing a Claim

Notice of Claim in New Jersey Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and Fall Workers Compensation

What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident

Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

Slip and Fall Lawyer FAQ

Brandon J. Broderick is Here for You 24/7

Should I Hire a Slip and Fall Accident Lawyer?

If you’ve been injured, your focus should be on recovery and getting back on your feet. Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, builds your case by gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, consulting with experts and negotiating with insurance companies so you can focus on healing. Our team of experienced NJ slip and fall attorneys will work with you to achieve the settlement that you deserve. We will do everything possible to defend your rights and be by your side throughout the process. 

Without a legal claim, the insurance company can offer you a lowball offer that barely covers any of your needs and may even refuse to cover some of the damages. Even serious injuries can be slow to present with symptoms and insurance companies will attempt to contact an injured victim and try to settle for very little as quickly as they can. At the law firm of Brandon J. Broderick, we passionately represent our clients’ best interests. And, if an agreeable negotiation can’t be had, we won’t hesitate to take the case to trial -- and win. 

Our New Jersey slip and fall lawyers have a proven record in premises liability cases against negligent property owners – including complex claims involving places of business, apartment complexes, construction sites, nursing homes, and public or municipal entities across the state of New Jersey and New York.

Contact Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney, at Law, for a free consultation. With our proven track record of success and our commitment to client care, we can turn your setback into a comeback.

Slip and Fall Compensation Amounts

Compensation amounts for slip and fall accidents typically include two types of damages -- economic and non-economic. Economic damages include tangible losses such as medical bills and lost income. Non-economic damages include intangible losses like pain and suffering. 

At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, our slip and fall lawyers pursue the maximum compensation possible for all damages resulting from the accident. All cases are unique, and the exact value of your claim usually depends on the severity and permanence of the injuries.

Economic Damages

Economic damages refer to the compensation you can receive for the tangible monetary losses caused by the accident. Keep in mind that you can only file a personal injury claim once for an incident. In the event of serious injury, it may not be immediately clear how much medical treatment will be needed and the full prognosis for a period of time. However, you are entitled to compensation not only for your immediate medical bills related to the accident but also to future medical expenses. Examples of medical expenses (past and future) could include:

• Hospital and doctor bills
• Surgery costs
• Specialized therapists
• Medical devices
• Rehabilitation hospitals
• Home healthcare

Calculating your future economic damages can be complicated and often requires experts to determine the severity of an injury and what could be expected for a long-term prognosis. A slip and fall attorney will know the best approach to take to ensure your best interest, especially in cases with serious long-term injuries. 

Other economic damages include lost income while healing from the accident as well as compensation for future lost income. Future lost income comes into play if you can no longer perform your job. Compensation could also include money to pay for domestic services, like housekeeping, you can no longer perform.

Non-Economic Damages 

In a premises liability claim for an injury sustained on someone else’s property, non-economic damages can be awarded to compensate the victim for pain and suffering as a result of sustaining an injury. In the case of the victim’s death, survivors may also sue for loss of companionship or consortium. 

Pain and suffering refers to the physical and emotional stress associated with an accident and the injuries caused by it. Injured victims are compensated for the physical pain and suffering as well as the mental pain and suffering. There is not a universal calculation for pain and suffering, which makes a skilled slip and fall lawyer imperative to getting the compensation you deserve. Their experience will help to be prepared to explain and justify the calculation.

It's hard to estimate your potential compensation without the help of a lawyer. Contact us at (877) 448-7350 for a free consultation.

Proving Negligence in Slip and Fall Lawsuit

To prevail in a slip and fall lawsuit, an injured person must prove that the property owner or manager was negligent with respect to ownership and/or maintenance of the property. However, there are different standards for property owners depending upon the type of property and why the person was on the property. To prove negligence, you must show that the property owner owed you a duty of care, knew or should reasonably have known that the premises were in an unsafe condition, and still failed to take proper steps to remedy the situation.

Duty of Care in Slip and Fall Accidents

The level of ‘duty of care’ property owners must show visitors is dependent on what type of visitor they are. Under New Jersey law, there are three different types of visitors on a property -- invitees, licensees, and trespassers. 

Property owners owe the highest duty of care to invitees. These are visitors on a property for business reasons, such as a customer at a store, an employee, or a resident at an apartment complex. Property owners must warn all visitors of known hazards and dangers and must reasonably inspect for any hazards and dangers.

Licensees are people who have permission to be on the property but not for business purposes, like party guests or visiting extended family. Property owners have legal duty to warn them of any dangerous conditions on the property that the owner knows of, and which the licensee is unlikely to notice. However, the duty of care for licensees is somewhat lower than invitees. 

Trespassers are visitors to a property who do not have permission to be there. A property owner has little duty of care to warn trespassers about hazards or any duty of care.

Breach of Duty in Slip and Fall Accidents

In order to prove negligence in your slip and fall case, you must also show that the property owner or manager breached their duty of care. In order to prove that the property owner acted negligently, the victim must show the owner failed to do one of the following:

• Maintain the property in a safe condition;
• Correct a known hazard on the premises; or/and
• Warn the victim of the hazard.

Some property owners may claim that they did not know about the hazard. In those instances, the injured victim must show that the property owner should have known.

Causation

Causation is an element of negligence in which the plaintiff or victim must prove that the unsafe property conditions caused the injuries. For instance, if you fall in an icy parking lot outside of a store, you must show that your injuries were directly caused by the icy conditions and you would not have fallen had that not been the case.

Damages

The final element of negligence is damages or compensation for the injury. As we covered under compensation, damages refer to the losses incurred by the victim. Losses can include medical expenses and lost wages as well as for the pain and suffering you endured.

Do you think you may have a slip and fall injury claim? Contact us today for a free consultation.

Deadline for Filing a Slip and Fall Claim in NJ

In New Jersey, an injured victim has two years to file a personal injury claim for a slip and fall injury from the date of injury. Filing a claim after this time period would likely be immediately dismissed. Slip and fall injuries can be slow to present themselves. It's important to get medical treatment and consult a slip and fall lawyer as soon as possible after the incident so that you don’t lose your right to file a claim permanently.

New Jersey Public Entities Notice of Claim

If you are injured on New Jersey state or municipal government property, you have an obligation to report your accident as soon as possible. In New Jersey, this time frame is very short -- only 90 days. For example, if you’re hurt in a stairwell of a building operated by the county or state, you must give notice that you intend to file a claim within 90 days after the incident. For claims against New Jersey public entities, consult with an experienced slip and fall attorney right away.

Slip and Fall Workers Compensation

Slip and fall accidents that happen while working could work a bit differently if the injured person is eligible for workers compensation benefits. The New Jersey workers compensation system is a no-fault system, which means that workers can collect benefits even if they were at fault for the accident.

Workers’ compensation is intended to provide several benefits including medical benefits, such as payment of hospital and medical bills, as well as the loss of income during any period in which an employee is disabled. These benefits may be temporary or permanent, depending on the injury, and may include a full benefit amount or a partial benefit amount. 

If you believe your employer was negligent in its actions, your case could be tricky. It’s important to note that by accepting workers compensation benefits you are giving up your right to file a separate lawsuit against your employer, with a few exceptions. Workers can file third-party lawsuits against other liable parties that are not their employers. If the injury was a result of the employer’s negligence or intentional misconduct, you may be entitled to a full range of compensation not available in the worker's compensation system.

What to Do After a Slip and Fall Accident

If you’ve been injured, seek medical care immediately or as soon as possible and follow through on the doctor’s recommendations and further treatment. Your medical care and records will serve as evidence of your injuries and damages incurred as a result of the slip and fall accident. If you don’t seek medical care, the assumption will be that you weren’t injured very badly. 

Start by taking pictures of the scene of the accident, even if you must do so with your cell phone, as this could prove to be invaluable to your case later on. Next, you should speak to anyone that has witnessed the accident and gather their contact information..

File a police report. You may not think a police report would be warranted in a slip and fall but it’s in your best interest to do so, especially if the incident occured at a business. The police will document the accident, and the resulting police record can be used as evidence. The officer will take witness statements and record any code violations or obvious tripping hazards that may have played a role in your accident – all of which can go a long way toward bolstering your accident claim.

Never discuss your case with the property owner or their insurance adjuster. Insurance adjusters are trained investigators and negotiators. If they hear any indications that you may be even partially at-fault in the accident, they will use that against you. It's possible that your compensation will be reduced if they believe you were partially at-fault. Speak with a slip and fall lawyer before giving a statement.

Stay off social media. Anything you post on social media can be used as evidence, including seemingly innocuous posts like locations, ‘check-ins’ and comments on news articles and the like. Make sure to change all of your accounts to private and ask any friends or relatives to avoid posting anything related to the incident or your condition.

Causes of Slip and Fall Accidents

Falls are very common in the United States. In fact, falls are the leading cause of emergency room visits and slip and fall incidents account for over 1 million visits per year. Common causes of slip and fall accidents often result from unsafe surface conditions or unsafe environmental conditions such as:

• Loose floorboards
• Jagged or uneven concrete
• Cluttered floors, aisles or hallways
• Parking lot potholes
• Recently mopped or wet floors
• Poorly removed or untreated ice or snow
• Cords and other exposed tripping hazards
• Poor lighting

Trip, slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere. Property owners operating apartment complexes, garages, stores, restaurants, public spaces and nursing homes are common defendants in personal injury claims relating to slip and fall incidents.

Slip and Fall Lawyer FAQ

Is there a limit to slip and fall compensation amounts?

There is no limit on compensation for compensatory damages in a slip and fall case in New Jersey. Compensatory damages include compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering and other losses.  there is a cap on punitive damages in New Jersey, which cannot exceed $350,000 or five times the amount of compensatory damages -- whichever is greater.

Can I sue for a slip and fall accident?

If your slip and fall accident was due to the property owner or manager’s negligence, you may have grounds to sue. To prove negligence, you must show that the property owner knew or should reasonably have known that the premises were in an unsafe condition, and still failed to take proper steps to remedy the situation. There are different safety standards for property owners that depend on the type of property and why the person was on the property. 

What’s the average settlement for a slip and fall in NJ?

All cases are unique, and the value of your claim will depend on the facts and circumstances involved. The settlement should be worth at least the sum of your medical bills, lost wages and other tangible expenses. In New Jersey, you can also recover compensation for intangible losses such as the pain and suffering endured from the physical and emotional pain inflicted because of the injury.

How much is pain and suffering worth in a slip and fall?

Pain and suffering is considered a non-economic damage in a slip and fall claim. In New Jersey, there is not one specific formula on how pain and suffering is calculated. In general terms, the more severe the injury, the greater the award.

Do I need a lawyer for a slip and fall accident? 

There is no law requiring you to have a lawyer after a slip and fall accident. However, good personal injury lawyers have the knowledge and past experience to gather evidence, interview witnesses, consult with experts and negotiate with insurance companies that you probably don’t have. However, victims tend to get more compensation with the help of a lawyer than going it alone. 

Why risk being unfairly compensated and not having recourse to fix it? When you hire a personal injury lawyer from our team, you pay nothing upfront. We work on contingent fees that are only collected if we win your case. If we don’t win, you don’t pay.

Brandon J. Broderick is Here for You 24/7

We get it. Accidents can have an impact on your health, well-being, and finances which can cause worry, fear, and anxiety -- for you and your family. We have decades of experience championing for our clients and succeeding, even when other attorneys say there is no case and insurance adjusters deny or devalue your claim. 

At Brandon J. Broderick, Attorney at Law, we believe in exceptional client care, empathy, and results. That’s what makes us on the top rated slip and fall lawyers in New Jersey. With our long track record of success, you can count on us to take the best strategy and work tirelessly for your quality of life. We’ve helped people just like you move forward after sustaining an injury that was caused by another’s negligence. Contact us today for a free consultation.

Don't go it alone. We have offices in River Edge, NJ; Ewing, NJ; Trenton, NJ; Jersey City, NJ, and Paterson, NJ. Our slip and fall lawyers will come to you anywhere in New Jersey. Call (877) 448-7350